Police Commission Studying Traffic Safety Improvements
Police Commission Studying
Traffic Safety Improvements
By Andrew Gorosko
As a way to reduce traffic speeds on the southern section of Queen Street, a Police Commission member is recommending that the town post traffic signs calling for a three-way stop at the intersection of Queen Street and Lovellâs Lane, or at the intersection of Queen Street and Elizabeth Street.
Police Commission member Brian Budd made the recommendation at June 3 session. The Police Commission is the local traffic authority.
Residents of the Queen Street/Glover Avenue area have long complained to Police Commission members about traffic conditions in their neighborhood, in urging the panel to take steps to slow traffic speeds there and make the area safer for pedestrians.
Mr Budd said that installing a three-way stop at either intersection could help to keep down traffic speeds on Queen Street. The mile-long Queen Street links Church Hill Road to Mile Hill Road. The southern section of Queen Street is lined by houses. The northern section has commercial and school uses.
The intersection on Queen Street and Lovellâs Lane is fairly level and would be a good site for a three-way stop, said Mr Budd.
Commission member Bruce Walczak endorsed the idea, saying that stop sign installation seems like a reasonable experiment to hold down traffic speeds. Mr Walczak said that although installing stops signs would not be a perfect solution to the speeding problem, it appears to a relatively simple measure that may be effective.
Police Chief Michael Kehoe, however, cautioned that without having traffic engineering data available to justify installing stop signs on Queen Street, the town may open itself to legal liability.
Commission members then voted to have a traffic study performed on the stop sign installation proposal, with Chairman Carol Mattegat opposed.
In another traffic matter, Mr Walczak urged that the town study its various pedestrian crosswalks with an eye toward improving pedestrian safety at them.
Mr Walczak urged that an existing crosswalk on Wasserman Way, which extends from the now-barricaded entrance to Fairfield Hills to the Reed Intermediate School, be eliminated because that crosswalk is not located in a logical place. Wasserman Way is a state road.
Commission members then approved a motion to have Chief Kehoe and Public Works Director Fred Hurley study how local crosswalk safety can be enhanced.
In another traffic matter, commission members said that they are awaiting the results of a traffic study intended to identify how the hazardous triangular intersection of Queen Street and Glover Avenue could be improved for enhanced vehicular/pedestrian safety.
The commission recently requested additional information on how best to physically improve that intersection from the traffic consultants who performed the 2006 Queen Street Area Traffic Improvement Plan.